Mending Bonds
by Astrophel Thracius
Summary: For six long years, I've done the same thing and still find the same results…nothing. SasuNaru. Mentions of Mpreg


I sighed as I woke up to the 'oh, so lovely' morning rays of the sun peeking through the window. I turned on my side hoping to find a source of warmth, yet I found none. For six long years, I've done the same thing and still find the same results…nothing. I missed that warmth, the embrace and feeling of safety that _he_ provided me. I felt the tears stinging my eyes as I thought about what we could have had, of what we could have been if I hadn't been a coward….if I just told him those words instead of leaving. It was heart-breaking but I know that it was a decision that saved all of us, that saved him.

My trance was broken as I heard the soft pitter-patter of small feet coming towards my room, my sweet little angels were awake and we have a new day ahead of us. I wiped away the unshed tears and awaited what I knew was coming and it did. I fell back against the soft mattress as two bodies glomped me. These are my children, Tsuki and Sanae. Tsuki, my little boy, has black hair, a pale complexion and navy blue eyes, he looks so much like his father but he acts a lot like me if you take out the brooding part when he doesn't get what he wants. Sanae, my daughter, on the other hand has bright blue eyes, a peachy complexion and black hair that flows much like a pristine river does.

"Mama! Tsuki bit me again, he even pulled my hair!" here it comes, the early morning complains, it's been a part of our morning routine ever since tsuki started to learn how to work his perfect set of teeth and pliable hands…really, it's such a headache sometimes.

"N-no, sana…pretty hair….like…m-mama" my son said defensively; he looked like he was afraid of getting scolded. My tsuki is such a smart boy but he can't talk properly. You see, tsuki has a mental deficiency, he learns at a much slower pace, but what he knows, he uses wisely. His ninjutsu and sharingan however are both very advanced, maybe it's because he uses his instinct more than his brain or he's plainly a genius.

"darling, don't do that okay? Sana's hair is really long so it hurts when you hold on to it, you can do that to mama's hair though" I brushed my nose against each of their dainty noses and kissed their foreheads. We stayed on the bed for five more minutes til' we heard a familiar growl.

"it looks like somebody's hungry….who wants some pancakes?" I quickly stood up and the world spun, I held onto the bed post for support but my legs felt like jelly and I crumbled to the floor. I heard my children's frightened cries, I wanted to tell them that I was okay but I found no strength to do so. Then the darkness claimed me.

"MAMA!" the two children called out as they saw their mother falling, his flowing blonde hair falling around him. They quickly went to his side and started to shake him, hoping that he would wake up.

"m-mama….wuuuuu…mama…mama! MAMA!" tsuki started to wail as he shook his 'mama' and climbed onto his tummy. Flames quickly started to spread around the three of them, burning the house but keeping away from the three of them, acting as though it was a barrier. Sanae reflexively curled closer to her mother and brother, she didn't know what to do because her brother was throwing a hissy fit and only their mother could stop him. More importantly, their mother collapsed and he was starting to have hard time breathing.

"Tsuki" sanae reached out to her twin "brother, you have to get off mama, he can't breathe properly with you sitting on his tummy" her brother sent a glare to her direction and the fire got closer to her. Sanae was scared, that much was known, but she had to get tsuki off her mom and find a way to get through the fire barrier

"Tsuki, come sit here, okay? Sit beside mama and watch him for me. I have to go look for help and I need you to make a way for me to get through, can you do that?" she said while gazing at her brother, hoping that he would understand. "Please?" she added when the little boy just stared at her.

Tsuki nodded and got off his mama, walked slowly towards his sister and sat beside his mother. Then, the fire separated, creating a narrow path just enough for one person to pass through without getting burned. Sanae started to walk towards said path and as she took the first step, she could feel the heat through the floor, it was burned but not yet destroyed. Her feet felt as if the skin was being broiled but she paid no heed. She ran outside the burning house and started to yell, searching for help but there weren't any houses near theirs.

"Help! HELP! ANYBODY!" she shouted as she ran to the direction where the village would be, their house was far and it will take her thirty minutes to get there but hopefully someone travelling would hear her.

'_Help! HELP! ANYBODY!' _

"do you guys hear that?" a one eyed man asked his comrades as he looked up from his book.

"Hn" one of them replied as he started running to the source of the distressed cries. Something was pulling him, telling him that he needed to help that person.

"Help! Please!" sanae was crying as she ran and ran and ran. She felt so scared, what if her mom and tsuki weren't okay? What if tsuki accidentally burns the two of them too? She wanted to go back but she won't be able to contain tsuki's power or tend to her mother, so she ran and cried for somebody to help her. Then she felt something, no, it was someone. There were people! She saw a man in black clothes, a girl with pink hair and another man with a scarf covering his face, they were jumping from tree to tree. One of them looked like tsuki, but he had coal, black eyes. She shook her head and called the man, the questions were stored for later and she needed to make sure here mama and little brother were fine first.

"Mister! Help us! Our mama fainted, my brother's with him and our house is burning!" she ran towards him and pulled him towards her house. Then she felt hands on her side and the man lifted her up.

"Okay, little girl tell me where your house is" then they made their way towards the direction of the house.

"There! That's our house!" the girl pointed towards the burning house, it was engulfed in flames and the roof was caving in.

"Sasuke, the whole house is being toasted; we have to put the fire out!" kakashi shouted as he started to form a series of hand signs to perform a water jutsu. The water jutsu hit the fire but instead of dying, the fire roared out and fireballs were sent towards them in retaliation. It was no ordinary fire, a person was controlling it.

"Dammit! Somebody set that house on fire with a ninjutsu and he's still there!" kakashi was frustrated, not only was the house on fire, there were two hostages, from what he heard and the fire wasn't dying anytime soon. This person has a lot of chakra to be able to maintain this jutsu and still attack them.

"Don't attack! Tsuki's going to get mad if you do!" the little girl said and then ran to the burning house.

"hey! Don't get close to the fire!" sasuke shouted as he pulled the girl back, they were centimeters away from the fire and this girl almost got toast.

"No, we're not, just stay close to me and help my mama when you get to him, okay?" she said

The three konoha nins looked at each other and had a silent conversation. This girl obviously knows the 'tsuki' person who controls this fire and she said they could pass if they helped somebody. There was something going on and they would get to the bottom of it.

"Okay, we'll help your mom but how are we going to get to her?" the jounin asked.

"Him! It's 'him'! Just wait and step back a little" then she made a gesture with her hand, telling them to get away.

"Tsuki! I brought people who can help mama! We have to get through the fire! Tsuki!" She called out and a path was once again made. "Come on! Move quickly! Tsuki will close this path" she said and as she took a step, expecting the heat on her feet once more, a hand lifted her and she was cradled against a strong chest. The man who looked like tsuki was carrying her.

The sight from inside the fire was exhilarating, fire was acting as a ceiling and protective wall against the crumbling house and there was no heat or smoke inside, just fire protecting them. As they got closer to the master's bedroom, they could hear the cries of a small child.

"Tsuki! Tsuki's crying!" sanae franctically jumped out of the strong arms and ran into the room, pulling the sasuke with her. What he saw sent shivers down his spine, that little child was is carbon copy and the person lying beside him was so familiar. He was taken aback by the scene.

"Sa-sana! Wuuuu…ma-ma ….mama..no..wake up..mama…. wuuuu" the child cried and the fire got bigger.

"brother, these people are going to help mama" the black haired child spoke as she pointed towards the three konoha nins.

He nodded, looked at the man with his sharingan activated and moved towards him, tugging at his sleeves "help..mama..please" he sniffled and fainted. The fire instantly vanished. It was a good thing that the whole house was already turned to ashes by the fire before it disappeared or else the debris would have squashed them into non-existence.

The three nins were stupefied, to say the least. First, this child was the source of such fire. Second, here was the six year missing nin, the runaway boyfriend, best friend and candidate for sixth hokage lying in front of them. And he had two children with one of them being a carbon copy of sasuke and having his bloodline. Sasuke was stiff and unmoving as he silently brooded over the revelation he just witnessed. He was holding his child; that he was certain of but he knew that naruto was and is still a man. So how did this happen?

While sasuke was brooding, sakura was already tending to naruto, trying to find the source of his sickness. He had no external injuries and she couldn't find anything wrong inside him, except for the blocked chakra points and heavily fatigued body. Meanwhile, kakashi was off to look for firewood, water and food for all of them. They left that sasuke with the sleeping tsuki, he needed time to get through the shock of what he just saw and what he was holding in his arms.

Sasuke looked at _his _child. He looked like he was around five or six years old, then it all came together. _This _was the reason why naruto left konoha. He was brought out of his trance when he felt a hand pulling on his pants.

"Mister, is she helping mama?" the little girl asked. Now that he looked at her, she did resemble him, she had black hair and her face was shaped like his, her complexion was slightly darker than his' and her brother's but her face shape was definitely his'.

"Mister?" the girl cocked her head to the side and looked at him confusedly.

"Yes, she's helping your 'mama'" he hastily replied. He then sat down next to her and touched her cheeks. "What's your name?" He asked. He wanted to know this child, if she _is _his child then he wanted to know her.

"I'm Sanae, Uzumaki Sanae" she pointed her thumb to her chest and grinned.

_Naruto_

" And I'm Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke" he could see naruto in this girl "how about your brother and mother, what are their names?" The surname pretty much says it all but he didn't want to scare his daughter.

"My mama's name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto and my brother's name is Tsuki, Uzumaki Tsuki" she looked longingly at her mom "Is my mama going to be okay?" she asked with unshed tears in her eyes.

"Yes, he's going to be fine. Sakura's one of the best medic nins in konoha" he patted the girl's head with his free hand.

"Uchiha-san, do you have children?" sanae asked.

"I do" he said with a smile on his face. Once naruto and him talked this over, he would make sure that his family would stay together and he would make up for the lost time. However, Sanae suddenly looked down. She was hoping that maybe he was their father, but if he had children then it means that he had a wife so their mama couldn't be with him. Sasuke seemed to notice the action because he called her.

"Sanae, come here" he patted the place beside him, she sat down there and he put his arm around her, rubbing soothing circles on her shoulder. They sat there in silence until the little girl yawned and put her head on his lap and dozed off. He leaned against the tree and started to doze off since he couldn't get up, what with tsuki and sanae's head both on his lap and he knew that naruto was in good hands.

Sakura soon finished healing naruto and with the help of kakashi they laid him on the cloth spread out directly under a tree, effectively blocking the sun's scorching rays. They went to where sasuke was and the sight that greeted them warmed their hearts. Sasuke was sleeping with his children on his lap. If the uncanny resemblance wasn't enough evidence then the sharingan definitely seals the deal and proves that sasuke was their father.

"Hn" sasuke woke up and saw two shadows looming over him

"How's naruto?" he asked

"He's fine, just too much fatigue and blocked chakra points, he's weak but after a good rest he'll be up and about again" sakura replied.

"Yeah, stress. That's why you shouldn't bombard him with questions once he wakes up, he needs his rest. Your issues can wait, you hear me sasuke?" kakashi said as he once again buried his face into his book once again.

"Hn. Sakura, take sanae and lay her down beside naruto" he said pointing to the little girl. Sakura already spread out blankets on the ground beside naruto, expecting this. She moved quickly as she took sanae, sasuke carried tsuki and they laid the sleeping children beside their mother. The six of them spent the night there. The three konoha nins didn't sleep a wink, this morning's events kept them from doing so. What happened was very big news that may shake the whole shinobi world. A tailed beast assumed to be dead suddenly returning to his village and with two children in tow. The biggest issue however, was that they were sasuke's too and they couldn't help but wonder about what the next day would have in store for them. This could end with the four of them being a family, or it could be a permanent separation for them. Either way, the next day would surely be an emotional event.

Finally the morning sun greeted them and naruto shifted. Sasuke and sakura were beside him in an instant. Sakura looked him over again, searching for signs of discomfort or any change in his condition. When she was satisfied that his condition was indeed improving she stepped back and allowed sasuke to sit next to naruto, threading his fingers through the blonde tresses. When he caressed the other's face, he felt him pressing against the said hand.

Naruto could feel warmth on his face, the same warmth that he had been waiting for in the past six years. He snuggled unto it, and then he remembered, this hand was too big to be tsuki's or sanae's and nobody else was supposed to be in their house. His eyes shot open and he quickly sat up, a gasp escaped him as pain erupted through his whole body from the action.

"Naruto!" sasuke, took hold of the other's shoulder and slowly laid him down once more. Sakura was once again beside the blonde as she checked if he aggravated the newly unclogged chakra points.

"Naruto, don't move abruptly, your body's still adjusting to your chakra points. I just cleansed them and your chakra's trying to go back to its original cycle. Stay still and lie down there" she said.

"Wh-what are you all doing here? How did you find us? Tsuki! Tsuki and sanae! Where are they? Where are my children? What did you do to them?" He cried franctically, trying to sit up but sasuke was holding him down.

"Naruto, calm down" he said but his voice didn't seem to reach the other as he continued to struggle and call for his children, tears started to flow freely from his raging blue eyes.

"Calm down naru, you need to rest. Please, tsuki and sanae are here. Their sleeping" sasuke hugged the other. "shhh..shhhh..calm down . Tsuki and sanae are safe, our children are safe" He tightened his hold on his beloved and started rubbing circles on his back. Gradually, the blonde's crying turned into soft sobs and he allowed himself to relax against the other's embrace.

That moment felt so right. Though they both knew that an explanation was in order, those things seemed like a distant dream as they felt the warmth that had been lost for the past six years. Six years of loneliness and emptiness, in one moment it was all redeemed.

"Naru, love, I missed you. I missed you so much" Sasuke said as he cupped naruto's face and kissed his forehead. He rested his forehead against the others' and looked into his eyes, silently asking for permission to claim him once more. The blonde closed his eyes as an affirmative reply. Sasuke then pressed his lips into the other's lovingly, a kiss so innocent yet full of passion. He knew that they needed time to heal and mend each other's hearts but the love was there, they just needed to help each other and talk things trough. It may take years but surely, they would correct whatever it was that went wrong.

"I missed you too" Naruto pulled back and whispered against the other's lips. Then he cupped the sasuke's face and kissed his nose softly. Sasuke laid down beside naruto and put his arm under naruto's head. The blonde then tried to shift his position and groaned because he couldn't get the strength to do so. Sasuke noticed and he laid on his side, facing naruto and putting his other arm around him.

"I'm sorry" naruto whispered into his ear. His voice quivered as he thought of what sasuke would do. What if he doesn't really forgive him and he was just getting carried away by the flow of things? What if he doesn't accept his children? What if…what if he already has a family? These thoughts ran through his mind and tears stung in his eyes once more.

"It was my fault too" the black haired man caressed his love's face and a soft kiss was place against his temple. The explanation was for later, right now the two of them needed this time, this silence. They stayed like that until the children woke up.

Sasuke first felt tsuki stirring and helped naruto sit up and lean against his chest. They watched as tsuki groggily sat up and started pulling at sanae's hair, when a hand swatted his' he took it and started biting the other. Sasuke was startled and he was about to stop them when naruto's hand held his'.

"Let them be, just watch" he said softly, his voice full of understanding and a sad yet serene smile formed on his face.

"OW! I'm awake! I'm awake! Stop biting me tsuki!" Sanae cried out. She knew the culprit because this happens pretty much every morning.

"m-mama" tsuki started to whine and make pitiful noises.

"Mama's right here" sanae took her brother's hand and helped him stand up, then they wobbled towards their mama and the two gave him a hug. Tsuki sat on his lap while sanae sat beside sasuke.

"m-mama…hu-hu…hungry…mama…food" tsuki called out while tugging the long blonde hair and biting his thumb.

"honey, I told you not to do that didn't i?" naruto said as he held the hand his son was biting.

"y-yes mama….mama..food" tsuki said as he tugged again on the hair that he had caught earlier.

"yes, yes. My little angels are hungry, what do you want to eat?" he asked. Sasuke was just watching, he wasn't able to see how his son acted and right now tsuki was acting like a two-year-old kid. He wondered if he was normally like this or if it was a morning thing. Then he felt naruto's hands grabbing his legs for support, trying to stand.

"Stay here and rest naru, let me make breakfast" sasuke said as he stood up and laid naruto down once again.

"tsuki, sanae. What do you two want to eat?" he asked facing the two.

"Pancakes!" the two replied with glee.

"Alright, then we'll make pancakes" he took the children and they made their way to sakura and kakashi to ask for pans and ingredients.

After they got what they needed they went back to where naruto was, sakura and kakashi in tow. The three of them cooked and they all ate breakfast. The twins giving naruto some bites of theirs and sasuke helping naruto finish his meal. By sundown naruto was well enough to stand up on his own. He walked slowly, with sasuke by his side to help him in case he stumbles. They stayed there that night too and the family slept together. Tsuki and sanae between naruto and sasuke and the lovers' hands entwined with one another. Sakura took the first watch, kakashi had the second and sasuke took the last watch and while doing so he looked at his family, his lover and his children. They were truly blessings and he would cherish them forever.

That morning naruto lead them all to a stream nearby. Naruto and Sasuke had things to talk about so sakura played with Tsuki and sanae while kakashi read his book.

The two of them were sitting on a rock overlooking the stream. The silence was bearable but one could feel the tension in the air. Naruto was looking down on his lap; Sasuke took his hand and broke the silence.

"Naru, you don't have to say anything right now. I'm just happy that I found you and our children" he said as he kissed the blonde's hand and used his other hand to brush the hair curtaining the face he loved so dearly.

"No, I have to say this now. I'm sorry sasu, I'm sorry for taking our children away. It's my entire fault that you didn't get to see them grow up. I'm very sorry. If I hadn't been selfish-"his speech was cut off as sasuke's lips pressed on his'.

"It's not entirely yours, if I went with you that day we could've talked things through. I'm sorry, you must've been scared. I love you, I love you so much and that wouldn't change no matter what happens. From now on, I'll always be here to help you, to love you, to cherish you and to show you how much I love you. I'll be beside you and our children as they grow up and we'll watch over them, we'll take them to konoha, they'll study in the ninja academy, and they'll be strong ninjas. And when they find the one they want to spend their lives with and get married we'll retire to the countryside and live the rest of our lives in peace there." He kissed naruto's tears away and planted a chaste kiss on his forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks and lips.

"Will you live the rest of your life with me?" He asked and as the blonde man kissed him the answer was expressed. It was an answer more valuable than life, he acceptance of love.

xoxOxox

It was fun to write this story . Life's on a standstill right now hahahha. Nothing better to do You know that feeling when you sometimes get tired of reading and you just want to do something different? If you don't then good for you. If you have then try to write something too, it's fun!


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